1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a bar used within a storage rack to support multiple types of information storage media or materials such as computer or micrographics tapes and cartridges stored in a high density rack or modular storage system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is necessary to store large quantities of magnetic computer media and micrographics of all kinds in such a way that the stored items can be quickly retrieved. It is also necessary to provide a means to secure more than one type of media as many types are in common use today.
Previous designs for support bars used to secure media in high density storage racks or modular storage systems have been designed and manufactured for one particular type of item that was being stored within the rack or system. While different embodiments of particular bar designs existed in the prior art, no previous design incorporated the necessary features that would allow the use of one bar to store items efficiently that are of very different types such as relatively large, round computer reels and rather small, rectangular computer or micrographics cartridges.
When it became necessary in the prior art for a new or different material to be stored, an existing embodiment of the support bar either had to be adapted to a purpose for which it was not originally designed and suited, or else the original bar had to be discarded and replaced with another bar of a different design suited to hold the different material. If a bar was adapted somehow to a use for which it was never intended, such as the adoption of computer tape reel bars to accommodate multi-packs containing a plurality of substantially identical cartridges, the additional expense of the adoption plus the loss of storage efficiency caused by the adoption itself was significant. The alternative situation in which the original bar was discarded and replaced by another design embodiment that would accommodate new materials efficiently was financially significant and wasteful. In the case of one particular embodiment of the prior art, employed in the storage of multi-packs of computer or micrographics cartridges, the bar design called for a relatively expensive and difficult to manufacture assembly rather than a simple, single piece bar and insert design.